Animals are raised on farms for various reasons. In many cases, a primary reason is for the manure that they produce. The manure is a valuable, sometimes an essential, fertilizing agent in the growing of crops. The manure is collected over time and is stored for later application on crop-yielding fields. The manure is typically stored in a pit, or lagoon, located typically close to, and in some cases may be under, the facility in which the animals are housed. The size of the storage pit depends primarily on the number and types of animals which are housed, and may be large enough to hold millions of gallons of manure.
The manure is typically held in a storage pit for several months and is applied in the spring and fall in many farming regions. During fertilizing, the manure is pumped out of the manure pit and is provided via long lengths of hose to various locations on a farm. A tractor is used to pull the manure-laden hose in a back and forth pattern over the fields in spreading the manure on the fields. To access remote locations, a length of hose exceeding one mile may be required. The hose, when filled with sludge, is very heavy and is, thus, difficult to maneuver and position. Spreading the manure involves the towing tractor traversing the entire field, and positioning of the hose to accommodate natural barriers such as water, woods and surface contour. Proper positioning of the sludge hose places great demand not only on the service provider, but also on the equipment involved in manipulating the sludge hose.
The present invention is intended to address the aforementioned problems encountered in the prior art by providing positioning apparatus for a sludge distributing hose which is adapted for secure attachment to the three-point hitch of a tractor, is capable of engaging, maneuvering and lifting the sludge hose, as necessary, and can be raised to a non-use position to facilitate transport to and from the fields to be fertilized.